This book presents a "bottom-up" action learning and action planning approach to community economic development. It is based on a learning experience for adults to promote community economic development that became the Community Economic Development Program. The book is organized in 11 chapters that cover the following topics: (1) framework for…

The Community Assessment System (CAS) is a research technique designed to probe small, rural community perceptions and attitudes toward planned economic expansion and social development by generating suggestions for general or specific community modifications; ascertaining community attitudes and possible responses to a specific modification;…

The need to develop "family capital" (the attributes and skills that enable families to carry out their economic, social, and nurturing functions) in inner-city neighborhoods is the focus of this background briefing report. Part I of the report describes the characteristics and causes of distressed communities and their impact on families, and…

A strong local economy which allows residents of a community to work and shop near their homes is perhaps the best safeguard against the threats of urban sprawl, economic stagnation, physical deterioration and loss of unique identity facing many small towns. Utilizing a six-phase process advocated by the University of Wisconsin-Extension,…

Of the 19 projects conducted as part of the Defense Conversion Adjustment (DCA) Demonstration administered by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Work-Based Learning, 5 tested the community planning approach. The projects attempted to alleviate the negative impacts of defense cutbacks on communities, firms, and workers. The project sites…

Asset mapping involves documenting tangible and intangible resources of a community viewed as a place with assets to be preserved and enhanced, not deficits to be remedied. Kretzmann and McKnight (1993) are credited with developing the concept of asset-based community development (ABCD) that draws on appreciative inquiry; recognition of social…

The 2.5-day workshop described in this manual was designed to meet the growing concern that small projects administered by the Peace Corps were not truly community projects or priorities. To foster more community involvement in the design, implementation, and evaluation of projects, this workshop is geared to the training of Peace Corps volunteers…

This publication reports the development of the vocational-technical resource consortia in Ohio and identifies the operational procedures associated with successful programs. Five exemplary consortia were studied in some depth; however, data were obtained from all of the 23 consortia in the state. The research indicates that the consortium is an…